What additives do you put in your shave soap?

Curious if anybody uses any additives to their shave soap. My go to soap base is Stirling, and right now working with Scotts Pine Sheep.

I sometimes like mentholated so created my own menthol concentrate by dissolving some crystals into iso90 (maybe it was iso70, I don't remember now) and put some in a small syringe dropper bottle, and some in a fine mist spray bottle. This allows me to control the amount of menthol I want, and I'll just either add a couple drops to the puck as I load up a brush, or spritz the foam in a bowl lather.

The other success I found is adding a couple drops of glycerin. I've found I get a much thicker and smoother lather with it that really adds a soft feel to the brush when face lathering. I've found too much can slightly dry things out, so a couple drops goes a long way.

Anybody else experiment or have some additional considerations?

Not frequently but I do have some WS-23 powder I add to a soap when I want to add cooling affect to it. A little goes a long way in giving a chill to a scent lacking coolness in the summer months. Cools like menthol but without effecting the scent of the soap.

With some soaps, you might need to use a preshave or aftershave or add things to your lather.

With other soaps, everything you need has already been added by the soap maker, at least everything other than water.

If you want to purchase a lesser soap and experiment, go ahead an do so. I would rather purchase a soap that has no need of additives.

If you are in an experimental frame of mind, here is a list of some additives you might consider.

Kukui Nut Oil, Jajoba Oil, Daikon Seed Extract, Cocoa butter, Castor Oil, Cupuacu Butter, Kokum Butter, Glycerin, Shea Butter, Babassu Oil, Murumuru butter, Tamanu Oil, Sacha Inchi Oil, Sea Buckthorn Extract, Chamomile Extract, Borage Extract, Allantoin, Sesame Oil, Macadamia Oil, Lonicera Japonica Flower Extract, Lonicera Caprifolium Extract, Tocopherols,

As a soap maker I think adding a cooling additive is fine. Some soap companies offer their versions. Some made from food grade cooling agents as Dave in KY mentioned while others use Menthol Crystals or a combination of both. You can also use any of the Essential Oils with cooling properties like Peppermint, Spearmint, Green Mint and Wintergreen for example. A drop or two of any cooling ingredient shouldn’t affect the performance of the shave soap unless you add to much. If it’s oil based it could reduce the lathering quality.

As RayClem mentioned using a soap that already has a cooling effect like a Peppermint soap for example is a good idea. Since you like Stirling I know their offer the Glacier soaps like Iced Pineapple for example.

I’m not sure I’d recommend adding any butters & oils to a soap unless it was seriously lacking in that area because if it wasn’t it could absolutely affect the lather and you’d be much better off just buying a soap that meets all your performance requirements.

I have an additive that provides many skin beneficial ingredients in it and it could be added to the lather but in my opinion it would be a waste and would be much better used in post shave products where it stays on your skin.

Just my 2 cents on the subject. Others may have different opinions.

+1 on menthol.
My technique, which I use exclusively with my vintage Williams, is I grate the puck. Weigh it. Add the EXACT amount of boiling H2O + 7-8g of menthol crystals. Now, you have to allow the soap to "cure" for about 2 weeks. (don't close the lid, but rather put a tissue over to keep any dirt or dust out).

Nothing.

Just bloom the soap and use the bloom water as a pre-shave if I want one.

I occasionally add a drop or two of Stirling Frost Drops to non mentholated soaps. Doesn't seem to alter the soap properties and adds a nice cooling effect, especially now that the heat is on here in SE Louisiana.

Not frequently but I do have some WS-23 powder I add to a soap when I want to add cooling affect to it. A little goes a long way in giving a chill to a scent lacking in the summer months. Cools like menthol but without effecting the scent of the soap.

Never even heard of this. Definitely not cheap! Interesting I see it used a lot in nicotine products when I google it as their neutral additive.

not sure why I never considered essential oils. Also it looks like you're 'just north' of me. I'm across the border in PA

Uber lathers

For you vintage wet shavers when the artisan offerings were not as stellar as Ethos, WK, DG, etc..... We were stuck with big boys soaps - altered their bases making them lacking in many ways. One way to get a good lather was to use a cream in conjunction with the soap, and add a couple drops of each lanolin and glycerin in a bowl. This bowl lathered combination and additives worked pretty well - the uber lather lifted several of my terrible britush pucks. I still occasionally do it just for grins. I think "Dougie" or "Hoosier shave" add a bit of kokum butter to their soap loading process.

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